


The Trials and Tribulations of Preparing a Picnic

by TracedInAir



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Diana just wants to help, F/F, Fluff, Missing Scene, based on some official art by one of the storyboarders, but she does her best anyway, by making cake!, happy birthday Kate!, she doesn't really know how to function when she can't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29907633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TracedInAir/pseuds/TracedInAir
Summary: Diana likes to help out. It's one of her finer qualities, if she does say so herself. But with Akko still struggling to learn how to fly, she's not really sure what she can do to help her. Preparing a picnic for Akko's flying practice counts, right?Includes: overthinking, a communist goblin, bad Gordon Ramsay impressions, Diana making a cake, and Akko saying yay.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 6
Kudos: 94





	The Trials and Tribulations of Preparing a Picnic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [simpleapricot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleapricot/gifts).



> A (slightly late) birthday present for my friend simpleapricot!
> 
> Based off this official art of Diana and a goblin making cakes for Akko's flying day! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/789699014224117760/799817992576696390/image0.jpg

Diana seated herself at an empty table with her dinner. Strange how something that was once so familiar could now feel so unusual, and the lack of chatter from her teammates or the red or green teams was very much felt. But she was, despite everything, still Diana Cavendish, and when Professor Finnelan needed assistance that ran into the first hour of dinner time, well, who else was going to volunteer?

She’d considered making up for the missed time by asking if Akko was free after dinner, but decided against it. Akko would be far too busy preparing for tomorrow afternoon’s flight practice.  _ Practice, _ she’d insisted, because she  _ was _ going to be able to fly this time. Akko was sure of it. So sure, in fact, that almost everyone they knew was going to be present.

Which left Diana with a rather unusual dilemma, what could she do to help?

Diana had given Akko all of the advice she could on flying, particularly with regards to how she’d learned herself while suffering the afflictions of Dream Fuel Spirit, but none of it had been of any help thus far. Diana did not like repeating herself, Akko didn’t like being spoken down to, so repeating advice already given was unlikely to be much assistance.

So… now what? She could just cheer her on, she supposed. That was what everyone else was doing. It was silly to feel like she needed to do any more. Overstepping, almost.

But Diana  _ wanted _ to. The frustration of watching Akko struggle and strain and yell  _ “Tia Freyle!” _ until she was blue in the face over the past couple of months had been almost unbearable. Akko worked hard,  _ so _ hard. The fact she’d been able to overcome the affliction to her magic  _ at all _ despite her non-magical background was the single most impressive magical feat Diana had seen in her entire life.

Which said a lot when all of the  _ other _ contenders for that title were also Akko. Flying the Shooting Star (twice!), reviving the Words and Yggdrasil, even her Samhain Festival performance had been a unique and wonderful experience with magic that Diana had never expected to enjoy again after Chariot’s disappearance.

So with all that in mind, Akko managing to fly was a matter of  _ when, _ never  _ if. _ And if Akko was confident about tomorrow, then so was Diana. But still it felt… wrong somehow, not being able to help her achieve her dream. Especially when Akko had achieved all of Diana’s for her.

“Oh good, you’re eating,” came a friendly Russian-accented voice from over Diana’s shoulder. Diana turned her head to see Jasminka’s friendly smile. “I was worried when we didn’t see you earlier.”

Diana flushed. “I really don’t skip meals quite so often as you seem to believe.”

“Hmmm.” Jasminka looked doubtful as she settled into the seat opposite Diana, popping open a packet of crisps. “Skipping  _ any _ meals is bad, Diana.” She raised a warning finger as Diana opened her mouth. “Even if you’re busy! Anyway, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing much. Excited about the prospect of Akko learning how to fly tomorrow,” Diana said.

Jasminka smiled wider. “I hope so too! Everyone’s very excited. Amanda is always talking about the tricks she’s going to teach her once she finally learns.”

Diana’s eyes widened. “I’m not so sure that’s—”

Jasminka giggled.

“Ah. You were joking with me.” Diana found herself smiling back.

“Yes. I’m not sure Amanda is, though,” Jasminka said.

Diana sighed. “Of course not.”

The conversation lulled into comfortable silence as Diana finished her meal. Should she say something more? She actually quite liked Jasminka, but wasn’t always sure what she was interested in talking about. Aside from… food.

“Jasminka, might I just say that I’m quite excited about the prospect of enjoying your food again tomorrow. The sandwiches you prepared last time were marvellous,” Diana said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Jasminka’s smile faltered ever so slightly. “Oh. I’m sorry, Diana, I won’t be bringing any food tomorrow. Busy tonight.”

“Oh.” Well, so much for striking up conversation.

Wait a minute.

“Jasminka, I’m afraid I must be terribly rude and dash off. I’ve just had a wonderful idea of how I can help Akko with her flying tomorrow,” Diana said, rising from her seat quickly, trying not to let her urgency show too clearly.

Jasminka clapped her hands together once. “That’s fine. Lovely talking to you, Diana!”

“You too, Jasminka.” Diana smiled. She’d been doing that a lot lately.

* * *

“Well, well, well. Look who comes darkening the door of the unwashed masses.” A goblin stood in the open door of the kitchens with his arms folded. “We ain’t about to give you extra desserts just cause you ask nicely, y’hear?”

Diana raised her hands placatingly. “I’m not here to procure food for myself. I was actually…” she took a quick breath, “going to ask if it would be acceptable if I used the kitchens to make some refreshments for Akko’s flight practice tomorrow.”

His eyes widened, demeanour shifting entirely as his arms unfolded. “The high and mighty Diana Cavendish, asking me to help her do a favour for Our Akko?” He barked a laugh. “How could I refuse!? Come on in, Ms Cavendish.”

Diana stepped in delicately, shutting the door behind herself as she entered the kitchens for the first time. They were… a lot more modern than she’d been expecting. Nothing at all like the kitchens at Cavendish Manor, the sheen of polished metal appliances dominated her vision.

“You like?” The goblin asked. “Lotta this stuff’s new, got upgraded over the Spring holidays. Gotta hand it to ol’ Holbrooke, she let us pick out what we wanted. Within budget, o’ course.”

Diana stifled a roll of her eyes. “And I suppose that your representative was on hand for that negotiation?”

The goblin smirked, flashing his teeth. “Couldn’t’ve done it without her. Honestly you students should be the ones thankin’ her, just means better chow for you lot at the end of the day.”

“Considering Akko’s love of food, I imagine she was particularly cutthroat.” Diana smiled knowingly.

The goblin laughed again. “If she wasn’t so set on the magic performer thing, that one could have a serious career ahead of her in shoutin’ at bigwigs.”

“Something tells me she’ll manage to fit in enough of that regardless of her profession,” Diana said.

“Right you are, Ms Cavendish!” He stopped in front of a large wooden table. Well, it was large across. In terms of  _ height _ it was much more suited to goblins than to Dianas, but that was the price she paid. “So, you’re makin’ snacks for Akko’s practice. How many people, ya reckon?”

“At least the nine of us, and I suspect Professor DuNord will be present as well,” Diana said. “Then Akko informed me she invited some of her other friends…” Diana could be cordial with Frank and Andrew. Really. She could. “I believe food for twelve should work? If there are any leftovers, I imagine Akko and Jasminka will make short work of them.”

“Alright, food for twelve, but two of those are Akko and Jasminka?” The goblin smirked again. “We’ll call that fifteen.”

Diana chuckled as he opened a few cupboards, handing her various ingredients. “You wanna go anything fancy, or just a buncha sandwiches?”

“Sandwiches should suffice, yes,” Diana said. “Although I believe some cake for dessert would not go amiss. I can source the tea myself.”

“Some cake, eh?” The goblin’s eyes glinted. “You good to make some proper cake for her? From scratch? Don’t wanna see you cutting up sandwiches while giving the  _ real _ labour to—”

“I will make the cake myself!” Diana declared, cutting off the inevitable rant before it could begin. “I’ll even leave you a slice, so you don’t feel alienated from the value of your labour,” she said with a hint of smugness in her voice.

The goblin doubled over laughing, clutching his belly and pounding on the table. “Oh that was a  _ good _ one, Diana! Aristocrats quoting Marx, what’s the world coming to, eh?”

“I would hardly call myself a convert,” Diana said drily.

“Ah she’ll get you. Your girl’s got a way of winning people over,” he said.

“That much is certainly true,” Diana noted.

The goblin smirked again.

Diana realised what she’d just agreed to.

“I-” Diana blabbed uncharacteristically, “I’m  _ terribly _ sorry you seem to have  _ drastically _ misunderstood the nature of—”

“Yeah yeah just messin’ with ya. Honest.” The goblin placed the last of the loaves of bread on the table, before extending a hand. “Alright, name’s James. Now that’s out of the way, I need to explain rule one of this kitchen. If James says something,  _ you do it. _ Clear?”

“Crystal.” Diana extended her hand.

* * *

“I said  _ squeeze!” _ James yelled over at her. “I thought you wanted the cake to have a jam layer! That what you call those two drops? Girl caught you in space, the  _ least _ you can do is put your bloody arms into it!”

Sweat pooled on Diana’s forehead as she strained to follow his instructions to the letter, as he clearly had  _ far _ too much fun at her expense. Diana had made the mistake of asking him if he treated the rest of the staff like this, only to be informed that,  _ “They know better than to forget the butter on a sandwich!” _

James’…  _ unique _ motivational skills aside, however, Diana was quite enjoying herself. There was something therapeutic about following a recipe, the precise instructions, repeating the steps by rote…. It was similar to spell practice in a way, except the result was tasty sandwiches for her friends to enjoy.

And of course, having enough food to keep everyone occupied would give Akko a little more time to practice. When Jasminka had said she was unable to prepare food, Diana’s mind had filled with horrible images of their group growing bored within ten minutes as Akko struggled. A night of being yelled at by a communist goblin was a small price to pay to prevent that vision from becoming a reality.

But… would dragging it out just make it worse if tomorrow  _ wasn’t _ the day? Akko was confident, and Diana knew she should be too, but mental blocks could be extremely hard to break, even for someone as well versed in breaking barriers as Akko.

And it  _ had  _ been a couple of months since the return of Yggdrasil, hadn’t it? Diana had been trying to avoid saying it directly, but Akko  _ should _ have at least been able to hover by now. She’d made excellent developments in other areas of magic, and Diana had been delighted to see Akko finally perform a Statue Animation Spell  _ without  _ causing any lasting damage to her surroundings. She’d even made it do a couple of silly poses while it was shifting!

It was that kind of  _ joy _ with magic that Diana lov— _ appreciated _ so much about Akko. Not one single other person at Luna Nova would have ever considered casting  _ Ansolew Airo _ just to make a statue play peek-a-boo, or I’m-a-little-teapot, or mimic Diana’s hair flip. And that was only the  _ beginning _ when it came to the unique and wonderful creativity Akko brought to magic!

If Akko couldn’t fly, it would crush her.

And there was nothing Diana could do to stop that.

She squeezed hard on the tube of cream, sending it spraying everywhere. James opened his mouth to yell, then paused. “You doin’ OK?”

“My apologies, I appear to have become a little distracted.” Diana reached for her wand to clear off the worst of the mess.

“Alright, we’ll take five here,” James said, hauling himself up on a counter to sit. “No sitting on the counters.” He grinned.

Diana chuckled. She’d been standing around for a while, but it didn’t really bother her. How long  _ had _ it been, actually? She’d been in such a rush that she’d forgotten to inform Hannah and Barbara she would be late to bed, although she supposed they were used to Diana’s erratic sleep schedule, particularly when she had duties to fulfil.

This counted. Obviously.

“You don’t gotta be so worried,” James interrupted her thoughts. “It’s Akko, she’ll love the food no matter what, yeah? Even if you sliced that sandwich about as straight as she is.” He gestured to a particularly lopsided sandwich with a laugh.

Diana snorted. “No comment.”

James smirked knowingly.

Diana rolled her eyes. “I’d have thought you’d be a little more opposed to the idea of your  _ comrade _ taking an interest in an aristocrat.”

“You admitting it?” James raised an eyebrow. Well, goblins didn’t have eyebrows, but he made the same gesture anyway.

Diana shrugged. “You seem convinced regardless.”

“You’re more invested in that than me, let’s put it that way. I just wanna see her happy, girl deserves it,” James said with a fond smile.

“We’re of one mind there, at least,” Diana agreed. “I… really would like to see her happy. The thought of her struggling so much with magic, after how hard she’s worked…” Diana trailed off. “She doesn’t always show it, but it  _ does _ upset her sometimes.”

“Hm?” James prompted for elaboration, reaching for a sandwich with a questioning look. Diana nodded, and he happily bit into it. “Actually not bad, huh.”

“Thank you.” Diana thought for a moment. “Magic gives Akko more joy than anything else in this world. Yet despite that, she has to work so much harder than any other student at Luna Nova just to see any kind of results at all. So I’m… worried about her flying practice. I’m scared that she’s developed a mental block, and that each time she fails to overcome it, it’s causing serious damage to her long-term motivation to do what she loves.” Diana took a deep breath, noticing that it was shakier than usual. “I don’t want to see her upset with herself over something that isn’t her fault.”

James stuffed the last of the sandwich into his mouth. “I think she’s just happy to be here,” he said simply. “Look at it this way, how many other people at this school would be expectin’ twelve people at a picnic just to see them stand around yellin’ on a broom, with no guarantee it’d work? Akko’s got friends. Good ones. An’ I think yer selling yourself short if you think that don’t matter to her just as much as the magic, yeah?”

Diana mulled over his words. “I know it’s silly, selfish even, but I do wish I could do more to help.”

“Aye, and that’s what matters,” James said. “You know it, I know it. You think Akko  _ doesn’t _ know how much you’d all be movin’ heaven and earth for her if you could?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Diana said, lifting a sandwich for herself. “I’ll make another.” She gave a little smile.

“Sure, sure.” James grinned back. “But seriously, she’s doing her best. Sometimes all you gotta do to help is just be there, whether it’s going good or bad. And from what I’ve heard from her? You’re already pretty good at that.”

Diana flushed, looking at the floor as she took another bite of her sandwich. “Thank you. Truly.”

“Right, now finish that up so we can get this cake done before midnight!” James hopped off the counter.

* * *

“Oh, Jasminka!” Diana called, striding towards her with the picnic basket in hand. “Could you help with serving these? I’ll get started on the tea.”

Jasminka smiled warmly, taking the hamper from Diana’s hands. “You made so much! And a strawberry cake!” She gave Diana a knowing look. “Akko’s favourite.”

“Of course,” Diana said simply. “It was the least I could do to help.”

Jasminka shook her head. “No, it was lovely. And I’m sure she appreciates it very much.”

“Thank you, Jasminka.” Diana smiled. Again.

* * *

Stunned silence rang out as Lotte pointed towards the ground. Or, more specifically, a couple of inches above the ground.

“She flew,” Constanze whispered.

Akko punched the sky in triumph.  _ “YATTA! YAY!” _

Diana joined the others cheering as Akko hovered for the first time. Her heart felt full to bursting, a warm smile etched onto her face as if it was there to stay.

She could get used to this.

In fact, she already had.


End file.
